La crisis de Ucrania obliga a miles de marroquíes a huir del país
The war in Ukraine is causing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Thousands of people residing in the country are being forced to leave their homes and the queues to leave the country are becoming massive, endangering their situation in the nation. In addition to Ukrainians and other locals, thousands of Moroccans living in Ukraine have had to leave to ensure their own safety and that of their families.
Since the conflict began, Morocco has already appealed to all Moroccan citizens living in Ukraine to leave the war zone. They were advised to travel to the borders of Slovakia, Romania, Hungary and Poland, as the Ukrainian borders and airspace are currently closed. It is estimated that more than 5,000 Moroccans have already crossed the border crossing points and escaped the ravages of the fighting.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad, 2,123 Moroccans are in Slovakia, 1,500 in Poland, 1,100 in Hungary and 580 are safe in Romania.
Added to this is the commitment of Royal Air Maroc, which has not hesitated at any time to help its people leave Ukraine. The airline has announced that it will carry out repatriation operations from neighbouring countries to Ukraine in the coming days so that any Moroccan can return safely to the Kingdom, if he or she wishes to do so. To date, it has been able to transfer 320 people to the Alawi country. In addition, the airline has set its prices at 750 dirhams - 75 dollars - so that any Moroccan can return home without any problems.
Special manoeuvres have also been carried out. The first two repatriation flights took place yesterday. The first took off in the afternoon from Warsaw, the capital of Poland, while the second left Bucharest, the Romanian capital, on a journey that went directly to the city of Casablanca. The airline will make two more flights this coming Saturday from Kosice in Slovakia and from Warsaw to Casablanca.
The struggle to get all Moroccans out of the conflict zone is relentless, and the 3rd and 4th of March have also been set as another opportunity to escape the situation. Several flights will leave from Bratislava Bucharest and Budapest, also bound for the city of Casablanca.
One of the problems that has been of most concern to the Kingdom has been the situation of students residing in the Ukrainian nation. The Ukrainian Ministry of Education claims in its latest figures that Morocco is the largest African student community in the region, with more than 8,000 young people enjoying their stay there.
The situation has provoked an intense crisis, and many parents and families have approached the institutions involved, such as the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Rabat, and have asked the Moroccan government to seek solutions so that their children do not suffer any kind of inconvenience related to the conflict.
"We are living through one of the worst situations a student could live through in his or her life. We don't know what is going to happen, we are waiting for them to help us", says the testimony of a young Moroccan, reported by the newspaper Faro de Ceuta. Those young people who have been able to return to Morocco have pointed out that they have had to access a distance learning system due to the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
The government assures that consular cells have been set up at the border crossings to welcome them and provide them with any kind of assistance they may need. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad has sent some 20 officials, including four former consuls, to help all Moroccan embassies deal with the crisis in the four countries bordering Ukraine.
For its part, the Kingdom's embassy in Kiev has issued a statement in which it claims to have coordinated all these people to gain safe access to the countries bordering Ukraine.
